The San Francisco-based apparel retailer, which on Thursday reported declines in quarterly sales and profit, said it plans to test small batches of product in its Gap stores this spring and then quickly buy more if the goods are selling.

Popularized by fast-fashion chains like
H&M,
the model allows retailers to jump on trends and quickly adapt to changing shopper behavior. The strategy has underpinned a turnaround at Gap’s Old Navy unit, which has posted a string of sales gains. This spring will mark the first time the retailer is using it at its namesake division, where sales have slumped.

Gap Chief Executive Art Peck said on a conference call that the company was trying to build this capability as quickly as it can.

Many apparel retailers still rely on a model that is becoming increasingly outdated in which it can take a year for products to arrive in stores. That makes it difficult to reorder goods that are selling well, or scale back on those that don’t.

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In addition to sourcing goods faster, Gap has hired new executives and closed underperforming stores.

Profit fell to $219 million for the three months to Aug. 1, from $332 million a year ago, partly because of charges related to the Gap brand overhaul. The company said it expects to record $130 million to $140 million in restructuring charges for the year, including for the store closures.

Sales fell 2% to $3.9 billion. Sales, excluding newly opened or closed locations, dropped 6% at Gap and 4% at Banana Republic. The Old Navy division continued to be a bright spot, with sales rising 3%.

Both the bottom- and top-line results matched the company’s forecast from Aug. 10.

Gross margin, meanwhile, narrowed to 37.4% from 39.4% a year earlier.

The stock closed down 1.3% to $33.66. But shares were up nearly 3% after hours to $34.58.